Versatile telemetering system

ABSTRACT

A telemetering system permits multiple functions to be monitored in response to each interrogation pulse by utilizing multiple sets of reply frequencies to distinguish between simultaneous reply pulses. The status of the various functions is displayed on a color television screen segmented into a grid wherein the color of each grid location represents the status of a respective monitored function. Remote utility meter reading is effected using a single reply pulse per interrogation by monitoring only one dial of a multiple-dial meter for intervals of angular motion of the indicator and updating a total accumulated count at the central station each time a unit of fractional revolution is sensed. In a preferred embodiment, telemetering is effected via a coaxial cable dedicated solely to the telemetering system.

Turner et a1.

x1, 3,737,666 1 H n. I United States P: 3,737,858

June 5, 1973 To: Z:

541 VERSATILE TELEMETERING SYSTEM 3,179,883 4/1965 Farrow ..340/324 AD 3,268,814 8/1966 Duvivier ..340/1s3 [75] Inventors: Loyce A. Turner, Smyrna; Edward A. Rollor, Jr., Marietta, both of Ga.

[73] Assignee: Advanced Research Corporation,

Atlanta, Ga.

[22] Filed: July 13, 1971 [211 Appl. No.: 162,111

[52] US. CL, ..340/151,178/69.5,179/15 FD, 340/183, 340/203, 340/324 A '[51] Int. Cl. ..H04q 9/1 [58] Field of Search ..340/203, 204, 150,

[5 6] References Cited Primary Examiner-John W. Caldwell Assistant Examiner-Robert J. Mooney Att0rneyRose & Edell [5 7] ABSTRACT screen segmented into a grid wherein the color of each grid location represents the status of a respective monitored function. Remote utility meter reading is effected using a single reply pulse per interrogation by monitoring only one dial of a multiple-dial meter for intervals of angular motion of the indicator and updat- UNITED STATES PATENTS ing a total accumulated count at the central station 3,256,018 8/1966 Higgins "HMO/151 each time a unit of fractional revolution is sensed. In a 3,164,771 1/1965 Milford 340/151 preferred embodiment, telemetering is effected via a 3,445,814 5/1969 Spalti ....340/151 coaxial cable dedicated solely to the telemetering 3,210,498 10/1965 Jackson et al... ....335/206 system 3,579,252 5/1971 Goodman ...l78/7.85 3,179,931 4/1965 Middaugh ..'340/l63 33 Claims, 37 Drawing Figures CONTROL LUCflC CHANNEL 1 I M I i I 14 l w 1 1s l TRRNSDUCEPS RHNSDUCERS T RHNSDUC ERS Patented June 5, 1973 LNE COUNT CQECBND i l ELD) 1 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 LINE COUNT (FIRST HELD) \NVENTDQ$ LDYCE A. Turzumzar' enwmzo Q. EULLUR Jr.

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AT TO QNEHS l 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 5, 1973 AT'I'UMMhYS Patented June 5, 1973 l 7 Sheets-Sheet 9 AV UruV EON Patented June 5, 1973 17 Sheets-Sheet 10 \NVENTDQS LDYCE ATUENER 3;; amwmw A. RDLLDRAF.

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ATTO R MEYS VERSATILE TELEMETERING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to remote monitoring communication (telemetering) systems of the type wherein a control station interrogates remote and diversely located stations to ascertain the condition of specified monitored functions. More specifically, the present invention relates to improving the versatility of such systems whereby the number and type of monitored functions may be significantly increased and expeditiously interpreted at relatively small expense.

Some prior art telemetering systems of the type with which the present invention is concerned include individual connections from each remote location to the central station. Other systems employ some form of time sharing or multiplexing to make use of a common transmission path between the central station and all of the remote locations. The latter type system is usually more economical than the former but is generally limited regarding the number of remote parameters which can be monitored. Specifically, the time sharing system requires the central station to transmit a series of coded interrogate signals, each signal in the series identifying a respective monitored parameter. A transponder for the remote parameter decodes the interrogate signals and responds for its monitored parameter by transmitting back to the central station a signal representing the 7 status of the parameter. In many instances, the time permitted between interrogations of a given parameter is limited by considerations of accuracy, security, or the like, thereby limiting the total number of parameters which can be monitored in a complete interrogation cycle. In some cases, where the system is controlled by or interfaces with a time-shared general purpose computer, computer time is limited, thereby limiting the number of parameters which can be effectively monitored by the system.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a telemetering system of the type employing multiplexing techniques wherein a much greater number of parameters can be measured in a complete interrogation cycle than was possible in the prior art. It is another object of the present invention to increase the capacity of a multiplexed telemetering system without unduly increasing the cost and complexity of the interrogation equipment.

Another problem area in prior art telemetering systems concerns the medium by which information is transmitted. Some systems employ radio transmission; however federal regulations limiting broadcast band availability severely restrict the quantity and type of data which can be effectively transmitted. Other systems employ individual wire pairs for each transponder; this approach, however, is quite expensive where large numbers of transponders are employed, the expense resulting from the necessity of laying and connecting the many wire pairs required. In addition, the individual wire pair approach has the problem of limited frequency response.

Another approach to datatransmission in telemetering systems is the shared utilization of existing telephone lines. This approach has the disadvantages of leasing expense, poor frequency response, and the fact that the lines (when carrying conversations) are not always available for data transmission. This, of course,

severly limits the times during which remote meters may be interrogated.

Still another approach to data transmission in telemetering systems is the sharing of an existing CATV coaxial cable. At the present time, however, this approach requires some compromise in performance of the television transmission system, and exposes the data transmission system to failures in the CATV system. Although the present invention can be employed in this manner, it is ideally suited for use with a special coaxial cable, requiring no active devices directly to the signal path. This can be an extremely important factor in transmission of emergency alarms, wherein protection of human life is involved.

It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide an approach to transmitting interrogation and data signals in a telemetering system wherein the disadvantages attendant with prior art signal transmissions can be substantially eliminated without undue expense.

Another problem in prior art telemetering systems relates to the monitoring of remote alarms and particularly to the display of alarm conditions. Most central station alarm systems are rather large and complicated, usually employing a meter or a plurality of lamps for each alarm function. Alternatively, only a single alarm indication is provided and the central station operator is required to actuate a series of controls to identify the location of an indicated alarm condition.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel compact display arrangement for a telemetering system wherein the current status of each of a multiplicity of monitored functions is clearly indicated and identified.

Many prior art telemetering systems have been designed to'effect remote reading of utility meters or similar meters which monitor a continuously increasing parameter. Unfortunately, these prior art systems have not been sufficiently compatible with central station alarm telemetering systems to permit both types of functions to be efficiently monitored by a common system. Moreover, and apart from compatability with alarm monitoring systems, prior art remote utility meter reading has been fraught with the disadvantages of expensive and complex decoding circuitry. For example, prior art approaches to remotely monitoring residential electric power meters have required a complex decoder at each remote location to convert the reading of all four meter dials into a form suitable for transmission back to the central station. The coded reading is then transmitted, usually in the form of multiple binary signals, to appropriate decoding circuitry at the central station. Where the multiple binary signals are in parallel form, many individual lines, connections, and circuits are required at the remote location. Where the multiple binary signals are in serial form, complex circuitry is required at the remote location; but possibly more important is the fact that precious time is consumed in transmitting the serial information for each parameter, thereby limiting the number of parameters which can reasonably be monitored in a limited interrogation cycle.

One prior art approach for simplifying data transmission of remote meter readings is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,814. The problem with that approach however is its lack of adaptability to presently employed utility meter mechanisms and its requirement for considerable modification with additional structure at the remote location.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to effect efficient remote meter reading of existing utility meter types with a minimum of equipment at the remote location. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an approach to remote meter reading wherein only a single bit need be transmitted from the remote location to indicate the status of the meter at that location.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a central station transmits a series of pulses of an interrogate frequency signal to multiple remote channels, preferably, though not necessarily, via a coaxial cable dedicated to the telemetering system. Each channel includes one or more transponders which count the interrogate frequency pulses and which are responsible for monitoring the state of one or more parameters. The monitored parameters in each channel are assigned numbers in a series corresponding to the series of interrogate pusles. The transponder sends back a pulse of either a first reply frequency signal or a second mechanical reply frequency signal according to the state of the monitored parameter having an assigned number corresponding to the current interrogate pulse. Each channel utilizes a different set of reply frequencies to permit maximum utilization of the range/frequency characteristics of the transmission medium. The reply pulses are transmitted, preferably, though not necessarily, via the dedicated coaxial cable to the central station where filters are provided to sort simultaneously received reply pulses according to the frequency of the pulsed signal.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention a compact data display comprises a color television monitor having a viewing screen which is segmented into a grid of columns and rows. Each grid location represents a repective monitored parameter, the status of each parameter being represented by the color of its corresponding grid location.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, existing types of remote utility meters are monitored on an incremental basis whereby a switch is sequentially opened and closed for successive intervals of angular displacement of only one of the plural indicator dials of the meter. The telemetry system interrogates this parameter sufficiently often to preclude the possibility of the switch changing states more than once between interrogations. At the central station the current state of the switch is compared to the previous state and any change in state increments an accumulated count. The switch is preferably a magnetic reed placed on one side of an indicator dial, opposite a permanent magnet. A magnetic shield overlays half the dial permitting sequential opening and closing of the reed switch by the magnet for successive half cycles of the dial. Other means of producing a switch actuator related to rotation of the indicator dial are satisfactory, i.e., a cam actuated contact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a telemetering system according to the present invention;

FIG. 1a is a functional block diagram of a modified version of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a television display screen according to the present invention;

FIGS is a more detailed functional block diagram of the system of FIG. 1 as employed in conjunction with the display of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4,511, 5b, 6, 8, 9,14,15, 16,17,18 and 18a are more detailed schematic diagrams of various functional blocks illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 7, 12, 13 and 13a are timing diagrams for various signals provided in the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 and 11 (a throughj) are diagrammatic illustrations of detailed portions of the display of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 19 and 20 are front and side views, respectively, ofa utility meter adapted for remote meter reading according to the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a simplified schematic representation of a typical transducer circuit capable of utilization with the telemetering system of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a diagrammatic representation of a modified version of the remote meter reading approach of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating circuitry at the central station which cooperates with the remote meter reading approach of the present invention; and

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of the system of FIG. 1 when employed to monitor pay TV billing information.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring specifically to FIG. 1, a telemetering system includes a central station and multiple remote transponders communicating via a signal transmission medium. For purposes of the system and components described below, the transmission medium may be multiple wire pairs, telephone lines, radio links, shared usage of a CATV cable, or any conventional electrical signal transmission medium. Preferably, however, the transmission medium comprises a separate coaxial cable dedicated solely to utilization by the telemetering system. Such a cable can be inexpensively installed, especially when installation is contemporaneous with a CATV cable. In addition, the primary advantage of the dedicated cable resides in the fact that the transmission medium is always available for telemetering system purposes. The coaxial cable is particularly advantageous relative to the multiple wire pair and telephone line approaches in that a much greater range of signal frequencies can be transmitted over the coaxial cable; further a relatively small cable can be selected to pass frequencies in the particular range desired for the telemetering system. The dedicated cable is also particularly advantageous relative to shared utilization of a CATV cable for the following reasons: (a) the telemetering system signals do not have to be tailored to prevent interference with television signals; (b) since telemetering signals are binary in nature, the extreme precautions required to prevent television ghosts resulting from line reflections are not necessary for the dedicated cable; (c) the dedicated cable may be laid out for optimization of telemetering signal transmission rather than for television signal transmission as in the CATV 

1. A telemetering system for monitoring multiple remote functions having at least first and second alternate states, said system comprising: a central station including a transmitter and a receiver, said transmitter including means for generating a series of interrogate pulses, each interrogate pulse comprising signal oscillations at an interrogate frequency, wherein each of said functions have a number pre-assigned thereto, said number corresponding to one or more pulses in said series of interrogate pulses; a transmission medium for transmitting said interrogate pulses to a plurality of remote locations; a plurality of transponders, at least one transponder located at each of said remote locations, each transponder including: means for receiving said series of interrogate pulses from said transmission medium; a counter for counting received interrogate pulses; sensing means for sensing the state of at least one of said functions, wherein said at least one function is different for each transponder; a decoder for providing an actuation pulse when the count in said counter is the number pre-assigned to said one function; a first oscillator for generating a first oscillatory signal at a first reply frequency; a second oscillator for generating a second oscillatory signal at a second reply frequency; first gating means responsive to coincidence of said actuation pulse and said one function in its first state for transmitting a reply pulse of said first oscillatory signal to said receiver via said transmission medium; second gating means responsive to time coincidence of said actuation pulse and said one function in its second state for transmitting a reply pulse of said second oscillatory signal to said receiver via said transmission medium; wherein at least a first and second of said functions are preassigned the same number, and wherein said first and second reply frequencies at a first transponder which senses said first function differ from the first and second reply frequencies at a second transponder which senses said second function; whereby said first and second transponders transmit simultaneous reply pulses of different reply frequencies in response to the interrogate pulse corresponding to said same pre-assigned number; and wherein said receiver includes a plurality of circuit means, each individually tuned to a different one of said reply frequencies.
 2. A telemetering system for monitoring the states of multiple remote functions having at least two alternate states, said system comprIsing: a central station including a transmitter, a receiver, and means for processing received signals, said transmitter including means for generating a first sequence of interrogate pulses, each interrogate pulse comprising oscillations at a first interrogation frequency; a plurality of remote parallel-connected channels, each channel including a plurality of parallel-connected transponders for receiving said interrogate pulses of said first interrogation frequency and generating reply pulses; a transmission medium for transmitting said interrogation pulses to all of said channels and transponders and for transmitting said reply pulses to said receiver. wherein each transponder is pre-assigned one or more addresses corresponding to respective ones of said interrogate pulses in said sequence, all pre-assigned addresses in any one channel being different but pre-assigned addresses in different channels being the same; wherein each transponder includes: sensing means for sensing the state of one or more of said functions, each of said one or more functions being pre-assigned a different number corresponding to an address assigned to said transponder; a counter for counting said interrogate pulses; a first oscillator for generating a signal at a first reply frequency, said first reply frequency being the same for all transponders in the same channel but differing between transponders in different channels; a second oscillator for generating a signal at a second reply frequency, said second reply frequency being the same for all transponders in the same channel but differing between transponders in different channels; decoding means responsive to the count in said counter being equal to one of said pre-assigned numbers for: generating a reply pulse of said first reply frequency if the function having said pre-assigned number is in its first state, and for generating a reply pulse of said second reply frequency if the function having said pre-assigned number is in its second state; whereby simultaneous reply pulses of different reply frequencies are transmitted to said receiver from different channels; and wherein said receiver includes: a plurality of circuit means, each individually tuned to a different reply frequency.
 3. The system according to claim 2 wherein said transmission medium consists of a coaxial cable dedicated solely to said telemetering system.
 4. The system according to claim 3 wherein said coaxial cable is devoid of active devices between said central station and said transponders.
 5. The system according to claim 2 further comprising a display for said functions, said display comprising: a color cathode ray tube having a continuous grid-pattern image on its screen, each grid location corresponding to a respective one of said functions, processing means responsive to received reply pulses for storing a signal representative of the state of each of said functions; and means responsive to said stored signals for displaying in each grid location a color representative of the state of the function corresponding to that grid location.
 6. The system according to claim 5 wherein said displayed grid pattern is bordered by a horizontal row containing number labels identifying each vertical grid column, said grid pattern also being bordered by a vertical row containing number labels identifying each horizontal grid row, said number labels being displayed by circuit means comprising means for blanking the cathode ray beam of said television receiver in predetermined areas to form individual blanked elements of said number labels.
 7. The system according to claim 2 wherein at least one of said functions is a meter reading, wherein said meter includes a plurality of rotating shafts with pointers and calibrated dials which register different units of the total of a consumed quantity, and wherein the transponder sensing means for said meter reading includes: a semi-circular magnetic shield securEd to one of the shafts; a permanent magnet mounted adjacent one side of the magnetic shield; and a magnetic reed switch mounted adjacent the side of the magnetic shield opposite said one side and in alignment with said permanent magnet such that said shield subsists between said magnet and said switch for half of each revolution of said one shaft member, whereby said switch assumes open and closed states in accordance with the current half cycle of said one shaft member.
 8. The system according to claim 7 further comprising: counter means at said central station for registering the total of said consumed quantity; and means responsive to each change in status of said reed switch, as identified by a change in the reply frequency for the meter reading, for updating said total at said counter means.
 9. The system according to claim 2 further comprising: means at said central station for generating a second sequence of interrogate pulses at a different repetition rate than said first sequence, each of said second sequence of interrogate pulses comprising pulsed oscillations at a second interrogation frequency; and a further plurality of said transponders, each arranged to receive interrogate pulses of said second sequence and transmit reply pulses of third and fourth frequency signals back to said central station; wherein said first and second sequences of interrogation pulses and all of said reply pulses are transmitted over a common transmission path in said transmission medium.
 10. The system according to claim 2 wherein said transmission medium is a coaxial cable configured in a loop having two ends located at said central station, and wherein said central station includes means for transmitting interrogate pulses alternately in opposite directions along said cable.
 11. The system according to claim 2 wherein said transmission medium is a coaxial cable configured in a loop having both ends located at said central station, and wherein said central station includes means for transmitting an entire sequence of said interrogate pulses in one direction along said cable and then transmitting a like sequence of said interrogate pulses in an opposite direction along said cable.
 12. The system according to claim 2 wherein at least one transponder includes a sensing means for measuring an analog parameter, said transponder further including: analog-to-digital converter means for converting the analog measurement to an N-bit binary number; and means for transmitting N reply pulses in response to N successive interrogate pulses in said first sequence, each of said N reply pulses having said first reply frequency when a corresponding one of said N-bits in said binary number is binary one and having said second reply frequency when said corresponding bit is binary zero.
 13. The system according to claim 2 wherein said central station includes means for generating and transmitting to said transponders additional pulses, each additional pulse comprising a pulsed oscillation of a frequency other than said interrogation frequency, said additional pulses representing data to be transmitted to said transducers, wherein at least some of said transponders include means responsive to received pulses of said other frequency for effecting a specified operation.
 14. The system according to claim 2 wherein some of said sensing means associated with at least some of said transponders includes means for sensing three different bistable functions, and wherein each said sensing means and its transponder are interconnected only by a single pair of conductors.
 15. The system according to claim 14 wherein said sensing means includes a first two-position switch means connected in series with a first diode between a common junction and a first of said conductors, a second two-position switch means connected in series with a second diode between said common junction and said first conductor; and a third two position switch means cOnnected in series between said common junction and the second of said pair of conductors, wherein said first and second diodes are oppositely poled relative to said common junction; and wherein said transponder includes means for applying at least one cycle of a two phase alternating wave to said second conductor, and means for detecting conduction of each phase of said alternating wave between conductors through said sensing means.
 16. The system according to claim 2 utilized for retrieving pay TV billing information, wherein pay TV subscribers are provided with an on-off sensor indicating use and non-use respectively of pay TV channels by the subscriber, and a channel selection encoder indicating which pay TV channel is being used, said system comprising: means at said transponder for detecting the conditions of said on-off sensor and encoder; and means at said central station for assigning specified interrogation pulses to the functions of monitoring the use and used channel of each pay TV station.
 17. The system according to claim 10 wherein N + 1 interrogation pulses are utilized to monitor the on-off status and used channel for a pay TV subscriber having the choice of 2N possible channels.
 18. The method of inceasing the monitoring capacity of a telemetering system comprisng the steps of: transmitting a sequence of interrogate pulses from a central station to each of a plurality of remote locations: counting said interrogate pulses at each of said remote locations; sensing the state of at least one different monitored parameter at each remote location; transmitting a reply pulse from each remote location to said central station when the interrogate pulse count corresponds to a number pre-assigned to a monitored parameter being sensed at that location, said reply pulse having a first reply frequency if the monitored parameter is in a first state and second reply frequency if the monitored parameter is in a second state, wherein at least one transponder has a first reply frequency which differs from the first reply frequency of a second transponder, said one transponder also having a second reply frequency which differs from that of the second transponder, and wherein said one and said second transponders sense monitored parameters having the same pre-assigned number.
 19. The system according to claim 13 wherein each additional pulse is time-coincident with an interrogate pulse in said first sequence corresponding to the address of the transducer to which data is being transmitted.
 20. A system for simultaneously displaying the state of multiple monitored parameters, said system comprisng a color cathode ray tube includng sweeping electron beams, a display screen, means for blanking or controlling the intensities of said beams to effect blank or colored horizontal and vertical lines on said screen, said lines forming a grid pattern therebetween wherein each grid location represents a different monitored parameter, means for storing the state of each monitored parameter in response to data signals received therefrom, and means for illuminating each of said grid locations with a color indicating the stored state of the monitored parameter represented by that grid location.
 21. The system according to claim 20 further comprisng character generator means for blanking or controlling the intensities of said beams to effect blank or colored elements of characters extending along two sides of said grid pattern in position to label the rows and columns of said grid pattern.
 22. The system according to claim 20 wherein each of said parameters has two operating states and one non-operating state, each state being represented by a different color illuminating the corresponding grid location on said display screen.
 23. A commodity consumption meter adapted to be remotely located from a central monitoring station and to transmit a binary coded measurement pulse to said central station aT regular monitoring intervals, said meter comprisng: a plurality of cyclic meter elements, each arranged to measure the same consumed commodity but having different units of measure such that each element completes a cycle in response to consumption of a different unit of said commodity; first switching means responsive to successive completions of a predetermined part of a cycle by one of said meter elements for alternating between first and second stable states, said one meter element having a relatively small unit of measure; means for transmitting said binary-coded measurement pulse to said central station during each monitoring interval, said binary-coded pulse having a binary value determined by the state of said first switching means at the time of transmission, wherein the frequency of transmission of said binary coded pulse is sufficiently high to prevent said one meter element from completing said predetermined part of its cycle during maximum consumption rate for said commodity; and additional means for preventing loss of consumption measurement accuracy in the event that system failure prevents transmission of said binary-coded measurement pulse to said central station for up to a predetermined period of time, said additional means comprising: second switching means responsive to successive completions of a predetermined part of a cycle by a second of said meter elements for alternating between first and second stable states, said second meter element having a larger unit of measure than said first meter element; means for transmitting a further binary-coded pulse to said central station during said monitoring interval, said further binary-coded pulse having a binary value determined by the state of said second switching means at the time of transmission, wherein said predetermined part of the second meter cycle is such that for maximum rate of commodity consumption said second meter element cannot complete said predetermined part of its cycle in said predetermined period of time.
 24. The combination according to claim 23 wherein said predetermined part of the cycles of said first and second meter elements is one-half cycle.
 25. A telemetering system for remotely monitoring the consumption of a commodity comprising: a transmitter located at a central station for generating an interrogation pulse sequence including at least one pulse identifying a predetermined remote location at which said commodity is being consumed; a transmission medium for transmitting said pulse sequence to a plurality of locations including said predetermined remote location; means located at said predetermined remote location for recognizing said identifying pulse; and switchable means located at said remote location and having first and second stable states; means responsive to consumption of said commodity for alternately switching said switchable means between said stable states as a predetermined amount of said commodity is consumed; reply means for transmitting a reply signal via said transmission medium to said central station upon recognition of said identifying signal, said reply means including means for imparting a first identifying characteristic to said reply signal if said switchable means is in said first stable state; and means for imparting a second identifying characteristic to said reply signal if said switchable means is in said second stable state.
 26. The system according to claim 25 wherein said tramsitter includes means for repeating said identifying pulse at sufficiently frequent intervals relative to the maximum rate at which said quantity can be consumed to prevent the amount of said commodity consumed between identifying pulses from exceeding said predetermined amount.
 27. The system according to claim 26 wherein said reply pulse is pulse of oscillatory energy, and wherein said first and second identifying characteristics are respective first and second frequencies of said oscillatory energy.
 28. The system according to claim 25 wherein said consumed commodity is measured at said remote location with a meter comprising a plurality of rotating shafts, each shaft representing a different unit of the consumed quantity, and wherein said predetermined amount of said consumed quantity corresponds to one-half rotation of one of said shafts.
 29. The system according to claim 28 including: a permanent magnet and a magnetically operated switch mounted in alignment adjacent opposite faces of a semi-circular magnetic shield secured to one of said shafts for blocking magnetic flux lines between said permanent magnet and said switch for one-half of each rotation period of said one disk.
 30. The system according to claim 26 arranged to maintain accurate monitoring of consumption of said commodity during a system failure of the type in which reply signal transmission to said central station is prevented for up to a predetermined period of time, said system further comprising: further switchable means having first and second stable states; means responsive to successive rotations of a second shaft through one half a rotation cycle for alternately switching the states of said further switchable means, wherein said second shaft rotates at a slower speed than said first shaft and, for the maximum rate of commodity consumption is arranged to rotate through one-half cycle during said predetermined period of time; means responsive to another pulse in said interrogation pulse sequence for activating said reply means to transmit said reply signal to said central station with an identifying characteristic determined by the state of said further switchable means.
 31. The method of monitoring multiple remote functions with a system of the type wherein interrogation pulses are transmitted from a central station to multiple remote transponders via a common line, and wherein each transponder responds to predetermined interrogation pulses by transmitting reply pulses representing status associated with a function monitored by that transponder, said method including the steps of: generating a first oscillatory signal at a first frequency; generating oscillatory signal at a second frequency; pulsing said first oscillatory signal at a first repetition rate and transmitting the pulses as a first interrogate pulse train over said common line; and pulsing said second oscillatory signal at a second repetition rate and transmitting the pulses as a second interrogate pulse train over said common line; wherein some of said transponders respond to pulses of said first oscillatory signal and others of said transponders respond to pulses of said second oscillatory signal.
 32. A telemetry system of the type wherein a central station transmits interrogate pulses via a transmission medium to multiple remote transponders and receives reply pulses representing data from said transponders via said transmission medium, said system characterized in that said transmission medium is a two-ended coaxial cable having both ends located at said central station, and in that said central station includes means for transmitting a first sequence of interrogate pulses in one direction along said cable and a second sequence of interrogate pulses in the opposite direction along said cable.
 33. A system for displaying status of functions, said display comprising: a color cathode ray tube having a continuous grid-pattern image on its screen, each grid location corresponding to a respective one of said functions, processing means responsive to received reply information for storing a signal representative of the state of each of said functions; and means responsive to said stored signals for displaying in each grid location a color representative of the state of the function corresponding to that grid location; wherein said displayed grid pattern is bordered by a horizontal row containing number labels identifying each vertical grid column, said grid pattern also being bordered by a vertical column containing number labels identifying each horizontal grid row, said number labels being displayed by circuit means comprising means for controlling the intensities of the cathode ray beams of said cathode ray tube in predetermined areas to form individual blanked or colored elements of said number labels. 